Joe Dunne believes his side were well worth a point after their 2-2 draw against Bury in League Two.

The U’s came from two goals down to secure the result, but also had to deal with controversial decisions throughout, with referee Craig Sarginson sending goal scorer Paul Lewis off for a second bookable offence in the second half.

They came through it though, with Greg Taylor’s wonderful late strike earning them a valuable point after a disappointing few weeks.

“I felt we deserved it in the end just for the endeavour and the courage,” he said.

“Bury are a really top side and had some big moments in the match and I’m not going to stand here and say it was all us going forward in the second half.

“We had to defend like Trojans in the game, especially with 10 men, and I felt like we did that really well.

“Overall, with the courage of the team and the courage of The Abbey we felt like we could get a goal back. Getting that goal at 2-0 was really important, it gave us a little bit of belief and the second half was a courageous performance.”

The mentality of Dunnne’s squad is something that has often been questioned, but he hopes that the result against the Shakers can provide a platform which helps them climb the table.

“One thing I always say to the players is if criticism comes our way and we deserve it we take it,” he said.

“You move on and you keep trying to work as hard as you can.

“This gives us a decent platform...very quickly this season could change for us.

“It’s a good day today in terms of the result and the performance, especially when we’re down to 10 men. Sometimes they are as valuable as a win.”

On referee Sarginson, Dunne said that he felt a penalty could have been awarded after Reggie Lambe’s cross hit Will Aimson’s arm with less than 10 minutes on the clock.

On Lewis’ dismissal, he added: “I didn’t feel it warranted it.

“I’m disappointed with the (second) yellow card. My understanding is if it was deemed dangerous play and leading with the elbow you probably would see a straight red."